By the Hand of Zero
by NightShade.The.Patient.One
Summary: Louise summons a bit more than what she bargained for. Her familiar is apparently a damn god that can summon his own familiars! Why does he keep calling them 'Smashers' Chapter 1 is finally up!


**Okay, I have been gone for far too long. My main story 'Love: Reborn and Renewed', hasn't been updated for over two years, never mind the other ones I have. I offer no excuses for my lapse, other than life hit me hard, and I couldn't juggle business and pleasure as well as most people. To all the writers with time consuming jobs, family to take of and you still have time to put creations up here, I applaud you.**

 **{2/1/16} It's taking a little longer to form everything on the computer. You how you can picture and plan everything perfectly in your head, but when you try to bring it to life, your mind draws a blank as how to describe it? Yeah, that's what's going on at the moment. Also, I'm debating on where to leave this story; if I put it in the crossover section, not as many people would stumble across it, or am I being too choosy? Anyway, here's the first chapter. Let me know what you think. ONWARD!**

* * *

The lone figure seemed to be as still as a statue as he loomed over a lone, sparse hill in his realm. His fourth successful tournament had come to an end, yet he was still a tad dissatisfied. He spent what felt to him eons of research and care to bring amazing fighters old and new together once more; copious amounts of precious time, to make everyone happy; checked and rechecked umpteen times the features that allowed the challengers to go all out yet keep them perfectly safe, but it seemed it was not enough for the general audience.

When he began as but a child, the first bout he ever 'put together', it was simple youthful imagination (as youthful as a new immortal could get, anyway). Having been perceived on the morality and creativity of the human race, it was simple fun of the various characters he already had in his mind. The roster was small, as this tournament was not one at all, but a mere daily fun time to him. It was noticed, however, by other deities, and they made way to chastise the 'boy' believing him to be pulling mortals out of other realms and arranging gladiator bouts with a sociopathic glee only an innocent child was capable of, like a toddler burning ants with a magnifying glass.

When it was discovered that he was breaking not the laws of gods' past, but reality itself to indulge in his fantasies, they came to an impasse. Left unchecked, this child could cross that one fine line that makes a deity light or dark, for they could not deny his amazing powers as nothing other than godlike. Though it was curious how he came up with such fights, especially when they told the child that his fantasy fighters actually existed as the creations of mortals. When asked where he came up with such scenarios, the boy shrugged and said, "Dad told me. He said have fun, and I did."

It was another immortal who had offhandedly suggested that he show his fellow beings, especially the one who ruled over the ones who created his fighters, what his little hobby was. He did, and the result was one he did not expect: uproarious approval. The creations' deity, only known as 'Heaven's Luck' to his brethren, was impressed, and, to the surprise of the rest, humbled by the young boy and the way he makes his combatants do battle. Heaven's Luck gave his blessing, as did a few others, for the young one to have his fun with their creations.

Not everything was perfect for the new god, however. In what would be called his adolescence, he was tricked and manipulated by another being. It was like a parasite, latching itself onto him and used him like a puppet. The third tournament of his almost ended in the destruction of his realm, if it were not the very fighters he brought in. He had gone to Heaven's Luck and expressed his gratitude and attempted to repay him, but the elder merely chuckled and simply said "Please understand", and went back to what he was doing before the youngling showed up, which was gazing at a painting of bananas. The boy never really knew what to make of that encounter.

The lone figure slowly set himself down on the soft grass, simply staring off into the dull sunset. He pondered what exactly to do next. Should he search for more combatants? Many other deities had pined for their champions to be considered, but the young god was surprisingly picky. He didn't just want overpowered titans to just beat each other senseless. He had beings of all shapes and sizes, and they all brought something different to his battlefield. That's what he wanted: something not normal; something-

 _I_ _beg of you…_

Unexpected?

He swiftly stood up and swiveled around. The voice, that of a young girl echoed throughout his realm, ringing out in desperation.

 _My servant who lives somewhere in the universe!_

Slave? It takes a being of strong stature to ask a god, young or old, to be at such a level.

 _Oh sacred, beautiful and mighty familiar spirit!_

The young one chuckled at the dramatic tone before finally taking notice of the glowing portal that had opened up. There was something that seemed to want him to do nothing more than jump through and answer to the beck and call of whoever was on the other side, but he was made of sterner stuff that the likes of mortals. He was a deity, after all.

 _ I desire, and here I plead from my heart!_

' _Well, that settles it, then_ ,' he thought. He _had_ been wondering what to do, anyway. Might as well see what lies in wait for him.

 _ Answer to my guidance!_

Without another thought, the god left his realm.

* * *

Louise Françoise le Blanc de La Vallière was fully prepared for the inevitable explosion that would follow her ritual. It seemed that was all she was able to conjure since she could first produce a spell. Day after day since she was a child barely learning magic, she _literally_ blew everything out of proportion. Even after she was able to join the prestigious Tristain Academy, despite her top marks in every theoretical portion of her classes, she had no luck with any form or element whatsoever. As such, it would not be wrong to assume that she was terrified about the Familiar Summoning Ritual that all in her year would have to perform. Obviously, she had the arcane symbols down pat, since all that was simple memory and steady hands. It was the next two requirements that gave have pause and fear: the original incantation that she had to come up with, and the, well, actual summoning itself.

She gently nudged her way towards the back of the crowd as the current student summoned their new companion. She figured that if she made herself as small as possible (a feat impressive in its own right, given her petite frame), they would simply gloss over her and close the ceremonies. Maybe she can approach the headmaster and ask to do this in private.

"Alright, young ones!" she flinched as she heard the voice of Professor Colbert, the staff in charge of shepherding her year along for this day. "I believe that is everyone. Is there anyone else that I may-?"

"There is one left, Professor!"

Louise gritted her teeth as before Colbert could even finish, that damn, cow-chested Zerbst opened her flappy mouth. The buxom, dark-skinned redhead, Kirche, had pointed in her direction with an all too familiar look of smugness on her face. "The little Zero, Louise, is our last one to go, as usual."

The crowd she tried to distance herself from suddenly whipped their heads right at her, freezing the poor rosette in her tracks. Not too long after that came the whispers that even a deaf commoner could hear.

"Oh, Brimer, not her..." she heard Malicorne's 'whisper' to his fellow students.

"Great, and I just had these washed this morning." There was Montmorency next to her not-boyfriend Guiche, comforting him about his clothing again.

"Everyone behind the blast radius. It's happened enough times to know where it is. Don't dawdle!"

' _Wow, even Colbert has something to say..._ ' she whimpered to herself. She understood that he was one of the more responsible professors, if a bit touched in her opinion, and he was keeping students safe, but it did not help that he was keeping them safe from _her_.

With a puffed chest and a mask of righteous arrogance, she shuffled her way to the center of the amassed clearing for all to see. Her wand's handle was slick from her sweltering palms, her knobby knees twitching as she bit the inside of her cheek. The whispers grew louder to her, like an ocean's wave crashing against her ears and soul. With all of the emphasis for this event, Louise knew that this was going to be the turning point of her life. A familiar was basically the physical embodiment of a mage's potential. Everyone, be they noble or commoner, will look upon her summon and use it to judge her worth. She hoped to bring forth something majestic, like little Tabitha's great Wind Dragon or even, loathe as she was to admit it, Kirche's rare Fire Salamander. If she got something subpar, she would have to work to the bone for people to see her differently, like how they once viewed Headmaster 'Old' Osmond and his little mouse.

If she received nothing, however...

'... _I'll burn that bridge when I cross it,_ ' Louise groused inwardly, and thrust her wand skyward. Like a maestro, her movement silenced her audience, the cacophony of stage whispers replaced with anticipation of her next failure. Louise opened her mouth to belt out her next requirement, only to pause. The crowd looked on, a bit confused. This was Louise the Zero, after all. For all of her faults, she never hesitated to try an prove her might, how little it would be. Then, to their surprise, she brought her wand to her side and her eyes, obscured by her pink locks, gazed into the ground.

Colbert looked on with a pained expression. Young Vallière was one of the few students he had grown fond of. She actually paid attention to his ramblings in class about new innovations and magic-less wonders. Sure, she showed her distaste for such topics, but she, along with Tabitha (he had to jot down her surname next time), understood the implications of his anecdotes and committed them to memory, even if the former did not put any faith in them. His inner monologue was broken when he heard Louise speak up, her voice a mere whisper and her words clearly more desperate and yearning than those before her.

"I beg of you," she began, her throat thick and suddenly raw with the turmoil she had been holding back for so long. "My servant who lives somewhere in the universe...!" Tears streaked down her cheeks as her voice began to rise. This was her last chance at her whole life, to prove that she was worth being called a noble. "Oh sacred, beautiful, and _mighty familiar spirit!_ " Her wand was to the heavens once more. The very earth she stood on shifted as her power began to take hold. Conjured winds whipped at her very being, her cape flaring out behind her as she roared for all to hear. " _I desire, and here I plead from my heart!_ "

Yes! she could actually feel something this time! The little sliver of hope she had left gripped her heart as she intoned her final words-

" _ANSWER TO MY GUIDANCE!_ "

The last thing she heard before the white engulfed her was laughter that shook her very soul.

* * *

Having been used to bright flashes for most of his adult life, Jean Colbert was easily one of the first to recover. As the courtyard came before him, he saw that, praise the Founder, there was little damage to be seen besides the summoning runes (which no longer existed thanks to the smoking, smoldering crater in it's place, he noted). There were students on the ground that were collecting themselves, none looking worse for wear.

" _Non!_ My favorite shirt, in tatters! I'll make sure that foolish Zero pays for three more for her incompetence!"

' _Young Gramont should focus less on material goods and more on the fact that he's alive,_ ' Colbert sighed as he observed the blond in hysterics over his clothing. ' _Though it does beg to question just how he was hit with...something, and no other student has so much as a smudge...barring little Vallière_ _anyway._ ' Sprawled out a few yards away from her attempt, Louise was covered with earthen debris. She had yet to wake up, but seemed miraculously unharmed, so Colbert breathed at ease. No major injuries. No casualties. No reminders from _those days..._

 _WHOOSH!_

With a flurry of wind, the smoke from the crater gathered around itself, forming a spiraling dome on where the summoning circle used to lay. Colbert immediately stood at attention, staff thrust forward and a deadly spell on his lips. How stupid had he been! He was too used to Louise failing and distracted by ensuring safety that he did not even _consider_ that Louise would have brought something to her, let alone having it _survive_ one of her explosions! The smokescreen quickened its rotation as flashes of golden light came forth. The professor could feel something in the air; it whisped against his skin like a brisk breeze. It did not feel like magic. It did not feel like anything Colbert had ever experienced. The most he could describe it was that it felt like...like... _power_.

As if his thoughts seemed to be a trigger, the dark whirlwind shrunk and imploded with a loud and forceful 'BANG!'. A shock wave sent several students to the ground once more as a powerful light shone from the circle. It quickly died down, and Colbert finally gazed upon the source of all this commotion. Before him was certainly not what he expected to see today.

There was a young man in the circle.

Louise de Vallière had summoned a human.

...

Not what he expected, indeed.

Shaking his head vigorously, he inspected the newcomer further. The first thing that was clear to him was that the young man looked very... _dapper_. He wore an expensive looking three-piece suit, the kind that only the most extravagant of nobles were slowly but surely bringing into fashion. The color was something rarely seen as well- not completely black, but like charcoal with just a hint of purple. Another oddity was that instead of the jacket coming down to his waist, it went beyond and flared out to his knees, the bottom spiking out and forming 'tails' at the back. He had a silky looking vest-coat colored like the yellow of dandelions, lovingly contrasting the main color. Bordering the edges and tying the two colors together was a deep, royal blue. Underneath that was a collared shirt of untouched white, along with a long ribbon wrapped along the collar the same blue as the suit's piping. His hands were adorned with gloves a more purer white than that of his shirt. In fact, his gloves, especially the right hand, seemed to shimmer in the sun's light. Altogether, Colbert was impressed and amused. While the quality and garb itself hinted at nobility, the style and flare reminded him of those commoner 'magicians' who used slight of hand tricks. Why, the young man looked as much an aristocrat as he did a ringmaster at a circus.

The person himself just added more complexity for the teacher. Pale, smooth skin, barely a shade or two darker than Tabitha, embraced the sunlight with a glimmer. His body was, interestingly enough, built like that of a ranch-hand, perfect for power and endurance. His ink-black wavy hair, falling around his ears and lightly framing his jaw, only amplified his complexion. Colbert noticed another intriguing fact as the summoned being's hair was blown by the wind. As it wavered, it reflected different colors, like when a pearl catches the light! Most amazing!

It was his eyes that Colbert observed last. He had seen many colors before. The common blue, brown and green; the handful of reds and grays, the obscure honey and even the rare purple of the Queen. This man, however, had a marvelous set of liquid gold shining upon the professor. They gazed right into his very soul, and for a brief moment, Colbert felt like an ant in front of Brimer himself. Then the moment passed, and the man spoke:

"HELLO THERE!" the young man's voice **boomed** over the courtyard, nearly uprooting the people around him once more. "I don't mean to be impolite, but can someone tell me where I am?" His tone was deep, rich, and certainly not one to be ignored. He turned towards Colbert and locked eyes with him. "AH-HA!" he exclaimed joyfully, making the professor wince at the sheer volume. " _You_ seem to be a leader of some sort. Actually, as a...matter of fact...can you understand me?" His voice ( _thankfully_ ) lowered to a much more human decibel as he cupped his chin, pondering that last question.

Colbert quickly put the loud one at ease. "No no, I can understand you just fine, child. With your volume, it would be hard to hear you after a while, though."

"Oh! My apologies." Colbert blinked as the man's voice instantly came forth at a normal tone. "That's something that comes out naturally, HAHAHA!" His laughter still shook the ground before he caught himself and cleared his throat. "*ahem!* Right. Now, where exactly am I? Also, how is it that we can understand each other?"

Colbert opened his mouth to explain, a knee-jerk reaction to most questions asked of him, but paused. "I...am unsure of what you mean." He turned his gaze over to the crater, as if it held the answers they sought. "I had assumed that you were simply summoned from another land, maybe even from beyond the Holy Grounds, but...your not from around here, are you?" His eyes narrowed, glancing back at the man. "You're surprisingly calm for one who was pulled through an unknown portal. Your clothing is similar to higher-class nobles yet entirely different. You immediately try to see if we can understand you..."

"...You're more clever than one would think, sir," the young man grinned, his eyes shining with a mischievous gleam. "Fret not! All will be revealed in good time."

Before Colbert could question him more, they were disturbed by the last student to wake up. "Once. Just _once_ I would like to do a spell and not have this happen..." slurred Louise as she came to. She blinked, and suddenly she sprang up to her feet, her eyes widening as she began to panic. "P-Professor Colbert! I'm sorry! I-I thought I had done perfectly! Just give me one more chance to pro-"

"There's no need, Louise." Her breath hitched as she froze in place. So this was it? All that sudden emotion for naught? Even her heart and soul could not overcome her failure? "You succeeded in your ritual." She sucked in a lungful of air and fell to her knees. She did it! A mighty, magnificent familiar for all of her dedication! Now to just complete the ritual and-...

"Professor, why is a commoner in the courtyard? Where is my familiar?" asked Louise, genuinely confused at the newcomer's presence. Nothing against commoners, of course, but they only come here for work, and no matter how... _sharp_ one dresses, they don't have any excuse to come around an event like this. As a matter of fact, the little rosette had not seen this person before in her life. He would had to have had come in through the front academy gates, and everybody noticed when someone came through. It's as if he appeared out of thin air.

...

...

... _"Nooooooooo,"_ whimpered Louise as she stumbled back and scooted away from her new nightmare.

"Louise-" Colbert began.

" _No no no..._ "

"This is-"

" _It's imp-possible!_ "

"HA! Leave it to our faithful Zero to summon a commoner of all things!" The students, who had been silent all the while, came back with a myriad of laughter towards Louise.

"It's a mistake!" Louise sprang up once more and turned to her teacher. "Professor, this can't be true! No human, let alone a _commoner_ ," she sneered at the interloper, who simply smiled wide and gave a wave of his hand, "has ever been a familiar before. It's simply unheard of!"

"And yet, here is one right before our very eyes. I, and every student here, saw him come forth from the summoning circle. He is to be your familiar. Unless you wish to deny him and have to explain to your...family." Colbert quickly took the wind out of her sails. The last thing she needed was her mother involved. Better to have a laughing stock of a familiar than none at all, and even then there would be no escape from the ridicule!

She turned to her _familiar_ and growled out to him. "Consider yourself lucky, you plebian. Many of your kind would kill for an opportunity such as the one I'm giving you."

"Oh~?" He drawled, playfully tilting his head to the side. Louise gritted her teeth; she was beginning to take back what she said about commoners not being so bad. There was something about this one that was so aggravating, _and he's said one thing to her so far!_ "I could tell you the same thing, little Louise, except my words would definitely carry more weight!" he added as he ruffled her hair.

Ruffled! _Like she was a toddler!_ The laughter from her fellow students did not do wonders for her mood. "Oh, you'll see the weight of my words soon enough." She took a calming breath to soothe her frazzled nerves and began the final part of her ritual. "My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; grant your blessing upon this humble creature, and make him my familiar." She rapped her wand against his nose (a bit hard, just to be sure the magic got in there), and gave him a quick peck on the lips...or she was, until the man scooped her up into his arms and deepened the kiss to an impossible degree. Her eyes widened as she prepared to kick him where it hurt to escape but- ' _Oh wow!_ ' The sensation of her first kiss, along with the unexpected experience and raw passion from her partner, and Louise was swept away by the currents of ambrosia, only to wash ashore mere seconds later. He was the one who pulled away, a calm, satisfied smile resting on his face as his eyes crinkled in amusement. She was completely flushed, her eyes had glazed over and her body quivering and gasping for oxygen.

"H-H-How dare y-you?"mewled Louise feebly.

The young man kept smiling and shrugged. "Nothing wrong with making something worth remembering!" He rumbled in his thundering voice.

The students and Colbert had been shocked silent. The boys could not help but admire how the man put a girl in such a state from one kiss, and the ladies could not find it in themselves to ridicule the Zero after that breathtaking moment, even if it was from a commoner.

Then the ritual completed.

* * *

The young man raised his left hand in wonder as it began to flash a kaleidoscope of colors. He could feel such agonizing pain coursing through his body, yet he did not flinch. The magic of the ritual was trying to tie him to this girl who summoned him out of the blue. He began to break it down, but not destroy it, as it came into contact with _his_ own energy. Yeah, this was nothing compared to what he used on a regular basis. Of course, it was impressive in it's own right. Earth, Wind, Water, Fire..oh? What's this? _Void?_ The girl had a lot of it. It felt a lot like...most interesting.

He felt around the magic a bit more and found another little tidbit. Apparently, whoever made this ritual put it so that the summoned become absolutely devoted to the summoner via the runes. What also added to that was that these runes gave him an interesting little boost. Hmm; while he wanted to have a good time for this little 'vacation' of his, he did not wish to be chained; not again. What to do about it?

...Oh well. The man simply flexed his hand out and clenched it back tightly, eradicating the devotion part of the rune. It passed with a crack of thunder, causing the students to panic and scream as the lights from his hand shined even brighter.

He was almost done looking at it. It seemed these runes were linked to two others in the same situation as he was. He raised his eyebrows as three titles raced across his mind.

 _Gandalfr. **Shield.**_

 _Vindalfr. **S**_ ** _word_.**

 _Myozthirin. **Mind.**  
_

 _...Lifbrasir. **Heart.**_

Ah! So four titles and three others then. With that complete, the deity allowed the magic to course through, eager to learn whatever new abilities that would come his way.

Finally, with one bright beacon of light, the runes finished etching themselves into his skin. Looking it over and finding it to his liking, he took in one detail that gave him pause.

It was on his left hand.

Left...

' _...Brother won't let me live this down,_ ' he sighed, knowing what was in store for him when the other found out. He turned towards his new 'master', who had been trying to get his attention for a while, apparently.

"Oi! You better be listening to me! Now that we're bonded, you are in so much trouble for that little stunt you pulled on me! T-Taking advantage of a noble and k-k...you dog!" Weight of her words, indeed.

"Sorry, can't punish me for that," he enjoyed the stupefied look on her face. "That happened before the contract between us was finalized, and I was a 'commoner' to you all," he air-quoted the word, further agitating his adorable new companion. "Now that I am your familiar, any punishment decreed on me is reflected back onto you. So if you're going to punish me for kissing a noble, that means to others you let it happen in the first place."

As a being constantly going through contracts for new combatants, he really loved it when he found loopholes and exploited them.

"Grraah! What's the point of back talking to me, familiar?!" He noticed that he did not try to correct him. She crossed her arms and pouted, looking away from him. "Just what good can come from you anyway?"

"I've been told that I'm quite handy to have around," he blinked, and began to laugh uproariously, shaking the very ground itself as it turned into a surprisingly sinister cackle; he quickly stopped himself and cleared his throat. "*ahem!* Right; sorry about that. Just a pun I didn't expect to make."

Louise felt her eyelid twitch at the newest constant in her life. Earth-shaking voice aside (It didn't happen! She was just very tired. That's all!), if this is what she had to deal with until she died, then her last breath was not coming fast enough. "...Whatever. Let's go, fami-" she stopped herself, much to her companion's curiosity. "Do you have a name?" she asked with surprising sincerity.

The deity gazed down at her and smiled once more. He had been acting a bit off with her for fun and to see what kind of person she was, but she still had the decency to ask for his name, even with her upbringing and his attitude, then maybe he would show her a bit more of the real him.

"...Xander. The name's Xander."

* * *

 **Welp, there you have it. I'll continue to look over this chapter during the week, then I'll get started on number 2. The basic relationship between the two will be more fleshed out then as well. Right now, Xander is just back and forth until he decides how he wants to be for Louise. Louise can't make heads or tails of this new guy in her life. Between treating her like a kid to making out with her to shirking responsibility of it, he's been throwing out mixed signals.**

 **Anyway, I'm always looking for improvement, and hopefully this story will be the spark I need to go through my older ones and start them up again! Let me know if there's anything y'all like if if you have a suggestion. I'm all ears! Thanks for reading!**

 **Until next time...**


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